Tuesday, March 30, 2010

One of the special events taking place at the brand new C2E2 conference in Chicago will be:

Monster Mash-Up Mayhem!
All the BRAAAAAINS Behind the Quirk Classics Appearing Together for the First Time!
Moderated by Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club
Friday, April 16th, Room E351 from 8PM-9PM

Best-selling Quirk Classics authors Seth Grahame-Smith, Ben H. Winters, and Steve Hockensmith, along with Jason Rekulak, the series creator and Quirk’s associate publisher, discuss writing and remixing classic works of literature as well as the future of the monster mash-up. Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club will moderate the discussion. A booksigning will follow the panel.

Seth Grahame-Smith is a film and television writer/producer, semi-frequent blogger, and best-selling author. His first novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (with Jane Austen), debuted at #3 on the New York Times Best-Seller List and has been translated into 25 languages. There are currently more than one million copies in print. Seth is also the cocreator/executive producer of the upcoming MTV comedy series The Hard Times of RJ Berger. His newest novel is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Ben H. Winters wrote the New York Times best seller Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (with Jane Austen) and the forthcoming Android Karenina (with Leo Tolstoy), both for Quirk Classics. Ben has written for a wide range of newspapers and magazines as well as several books in the best-selling Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide series; his plays and musicals have been produced Off Broadway, regionally, and around the world. He lives in Brooklyn, but you can always find him at www.benhwinters.com.

Steve Hockensmith is an award-winning short-story writer, novelist, and reporter. His short fiction appears regularly in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as well as anthologies such as Sherlock Holmes in America and Death Do Us Part. His story “Erie's Last Day” appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2001. His first novel—the kick-off to his Holmes on the Range mystery series—was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, and Dilys awards. He lives in Alameda, California, and blogs sporadically at www.stevehockensmith.com. His newest novel is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, the prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Jason Rekulak is the creator of the Quirk Classics series. Inspired by all the creative copyright infringement that flourishes on the Internet, he decided to spice up public domain works of classic literature by adding monster mayhem. Surprisingly, he created a subgenre of books—the literary monster mash-up—that has taken the world by storm. Jason has conceived all the titles in the series and has worked with the authors to develop the manuscripts. He is Associate Publisher and Creative Director at Quirk Books.